When the Union Civil Protection Mechanism is activated by a country stricken by a disaster, the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) mobilises specialised teams and equipment for deployments, such as firefighting planes, search and rescue and medical teams. The prompt and effective delivery of international assistance, however, relies heavily on the affected country - the Host Nation - having the right conditions in place to accept it.
Host Nation Support means removing (as much as possible) any obstacle to international assistance to ensure that disaster response operations proceed smoothly. Host Nation Support covers all aspects of the delivery of assistance – from customs clearance, through medical provision (ensuring doctors have the right to operate in the country, for example) to logistics and transportation once the assistance reaches the affected country. In a disaster scenario, the Host Nation needs to be able to provide one interface for incoming assistance, and to coordinate in an efficient and timely way with all stakeholders involved in its support.
Different country have different approach to receiving and integrating international assistance in their national system, reflecting their own ways of working in a crisis situation, making necessary to create guidelines to clarify how to Host Nation Support is provided to incoming assistance.
For this reason Member States and Participating states of the UCPM have created the EU Host Nation Support Guidelines. Initially published in 2012 with the aim to support and assist affected countries in receiving international assistance during disaster response, the EU Host Nation Support Guidelines are a key preparedness element to enable the effectiveness of UCPM operations. They are a non-binding tool aimed at providing guidance and support for the delivery of effective and efficient international assistance in a major emergency. They highlight the key actions to be taken in relation to emergency planning, emergency management and coordination, logistics, transport and legal and financial issues. The EU Host Nation Support Guidelines address assistance provided to external capacities and personnel of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) operating in the territory of a requesting country, the Host Nation, or transiting through the territory of another country to reach the affected country.
A series of workshops with national Host Nation Support (HNS) experts took place in June 2023, September 2023 and May 2024 focusing on identifying updates and improvements to the 2012 version, and prioritising supporting actions for their promotion, uptake and implementation.
The main outcome of these workshops was a revised version of the EU Host Nation Support Guidelines, which was adopted as a Commission Recommendation by the College on 29 September 2024 and is now publicly available in all EU languages.
Key updates in the revised EU Host Nation Support Guidelines include the establishment of national HNS Cells or an HNS Liaison Contact Point. The HNS Cell, operating within the competent national authority/authorities, coordinates HNS for incoming international assistance. The HNS Cell oversees the coordination, reception, and assistance for incoming international response capacities during emergencies. When a country decides not to establish a HNS Cell, the importance of having at least one HNS Liaison Contact Point has been reflected in Implementing Decision 2014/762/EU.
Checklists have also been updated, while forms and templates have been modified with a view of being integrated into the workflow of the new version of a common emergency communication and information system (CECIS).
| Guideline | Document |
| European Commission Recommendation - EU Host Nation Support Guidelines | en |
| Annex 1 of 10 | en |
| Annex 2 of 10 | en |
| Annex 3 of 10 | en |
| Annex 4 of 10 | en |
| Annex 5 of 10 | en |
| Annex 6 of 10 | en |
| Annex 7 of 10 | en |
| Annex 8 of 10 | en |
| Annex 9 of 10 | en |
| Annex 10 of 10 | en |
| Official link to access the guidelines in all EU languages. |